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Shabbat Shalom May 8, 2015

Yesterday was Log B’Omer, the holiday between Passover and Shavout and in a nutshell it represents the fighting Jewish spiritagainst the Roman Empire lead by Simon bar Kokhbar.Bonfires and bow & arrows are the traditions of this holiday.

Mothering Spirit

Other conquering heroes (many would say) are Mothers and this weekend we pay tribute to all of our mothering figures in our lives. Happy Mother’s day to my mother, Florine Mark, a super-hero to many. Also, Happy M-Day to my daughter,Ariella Lis Raviv, the Super-Imma to our delightful granddaughter, Hadassa.

Mother of Dysfunction

Watergate (40 years ago) was the Mother to our current Federal Elections Commission (FEC). After the Watergate debacle, a commission was established to oversee the financial contributions to federal elections. Great idea…right? Well, it would be, if our system weren’t corrupted by SCOTUS’ (Supreme Court) 2010 Citizens United decision which opened the floodgate to unlimited funds and last year’s McCutcheon decision that furthered the lack of transparency. Today, the dysfunctional FEC with 6 commissioners (3 dems & 3 repubs) are unable to come to a consensus resulting in the dismissal of many cases leaving us as unregulated as our pre-Watergate era. Our 2016 election is bound to be fraught with funding improprieties as this NYTimes article highlights:

This week’s Michigan vote resulted in the expected defeat of Prop. 1 as the SOS for our Roads is now back in the laps of our legislators. Unfortunately, many people found the proposal too complicated and were concerned the increase sales tax revenues weren’t going to reach their intended road repairs. Now Lansing will need to hit the budget books and take from (Penniless) Peter to pay (Pothole) Paul. However, there is a concerted effort from the marijuana community to promote Pot to Potholes by regulating and taxing the marijuana usage with revenues earmarked for infrastructure repairs. Not sure about you…but I like this plan.

Now is the time

For 100 years Turkey has denied the fact that their ancestors (the Ottoman Empire) killed 1.5 million Armenians. Deportation, forced labor, death marches and mass murder resulted in the genocide. Do all these atrocities sound familiar? Hitler used this genocide, which was basically unpunished, as his model for the Holocaust. Isn’t it time for Turkey to acknowledge, apologize and repair bonds to the Armenian community for its atrocious past behavior. I hope they don’t wait till the next centennial anniversary.

100 Faces

Want to learn how to count to 100 in Hebrew. Here are 100 Israelis each giving their age in order. A very creative way to learn the Hebrew numbers while viewing the sweet faces of our friends and family in Israel. It is interesting to see the aging of people in this 3 minute video:

Some are (sadly) counting down the weeks till May 20th whenDavid Letterman signs off the air after 33 years.

Letterman tapes his shows at the famous Ed Sullivan Theaterwhere the likes of Elvis and the Beatles made their debut appearances. In 2009, Paul McCartney didn’t want to jump back on that same stage so he performed “Get Back” on top of the famous Marquee (reminiscent of their 1969 Apple Records rooftop performance). Though no police arrived during this recording like they did during the ’69 performance:

The main mission of Amnesty International is to protect the Human Rights of our Global Society. Yet, this “global” mission was questioned recently at their annual meeting in the UK when the only motion rejected that day, was one that requested attention to the rise of anti-semitism in Great Britain. Why are the Human Rights of Jews discounted within Amnesty International’s agenda. They rationalized avoiding single issue motions however several past resolutions concentrated on Abortions, Asian Garment Workers and even discrimination against Muslims in Europe. How is Jewish hatred more singular than Asian garment workers? Just last summer, Amnesty International didn’t have a problem singling out Israel for war crimes as they protected themselves from Hamas bombs. Over the years Amnesty International has proven their bias against Jews and Israel and this is another feather in their bias cap.

Sadly, our US police are not the only ones with racial bullying on their rap sheet. This week, Israeli protests (that turned ugly) took place in Tel Aviv after a video emerged showing an Israeli police officer beating an Ethiopian Israeli (who was even wearing an IDF uniform). Bibi (who just this week formed his coalition with a squeaky margin) invited the Ethiopian to his office to discuss the disgraceful incident and ways to prevent it from occurring the the future.

With horses in mind, here is a meaningful way to support our local Detroit Zoo by pledging to help build their Biodigester. What is a Biodigester, you may ask? Good questions… It will convert the 400 tons of Zoo animal manure to enough energy to power the Zoo’s Vet Hospital. The Michigan Economic Development Corp is matching funds raised by the public to support this fantastic recycling project. Please join me by contributing (any size donation) to this worthy cause at:

Condolences to Lori Cohn and her family on the passing of her father-in-law, Dr. Leonard Cohn z”l. May his memory and spirit bring comfort to those who loved him and mourn his passing.

Love and hugs to (bonus) siblings Lee and Lisa Ross on the passing of Lisa’s father, Dr. Aaron Marcus z”l. He was a well respected doctor who healed many. May his spirit, love and memories help ease the sorrow of his family.

Condolences to Gerald and Barbara Cook on the passing ofJeanette Cook. May her love and memories bring comfort to Jerry, Barbara and their entire family during their time of mourning.

Condolences to the family and friends of Dave Goldberg z”l, wife of Sheryl Sandberg. His outstanding contributions to the world of technology were overshadowed by his famous wife, but his spirit, love of family and memories will live on as his true legacy.

The (late) great Ben E. King died last week at the age of 76. He’s famous for recording the songs “Stand By Me” and “Spanish Harlem”. Here he is singing on the Letterman show in 2007: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xjZldG5qkV4

Wishing you and your loved ones a Sweet and Peaceful Shabbat Shalom and a meaningful Mother’s Day to the all mothering figures of the world.

Lisa

P.S. Bonus Video: Check out this humorous punking of Iran’s Foreign minister acknowledging the 1,000th execution his country has performed in just 18 months. “free ice cream to free Iranians”. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pVqFLtlbUO4

P.P.S The Senate just passed the Iran Nuclear Bill (98 -1, Tom Cotton voted against it) which gives Congress their “approval rights” to any nuclear deal and prevents sanction lifting for 30 days during the review process. It is pitiful and disgraceful (yet not surprising) that the two hottest topics debated and eliminated from the the final agreement were:
-1. the requirement that Iran accepts Israel’s right to exist
-2. Iran would denounce terrorism

How ironic that those two topics were too egregious since this whole Iran deal is meant to prevent Iran from terrorist acts against Israel (and the region). The Bill is off to the House now.

Now through June 16th

Detroit Zoo Biodigester

Please join me in supporting this crowdfunder to raise matching funds to help build a Biodigester which will convert manure to energy.http://tinyurl.com/ZooBiodigester